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Promising Latvian hockey player disappears without a trace; drowning death feared

RIGA, June 13 (LETA) - This week, promising Latvian ice hockey player Kristians Pelss (born 1992) has disappeared without a trace, according to information obtained by LETA. According to unofficial information, he might have disappeared after jumping into the Daugava River from the Akmens Bridge in central Riga, but this version of events has yet to be confirmed.

As LETA was informed by State Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele, rescuers received a call at around 2:00 a.m. early Tuesday morning, that a man had jumped into the Daugava River. Arriving at the scene, rescuers only found the man's clothing. A search of the water was also unsuccessful.

Rescuers continued to search the water the next day with diving equipment, but did found nothing.

State Police Riga Region Department press representative Toms Sadovskis confirmed the incident, but will only make comments after the investigation. Sadovskis did admit that the police have a version who this person might be.

One of the versions is that this person might be a 1992-born male, whose relatives notified police of his disappearance earlier this week, Sadovskis said.

According to information obtained by LETA, Pelss had arrived in Latvia on Monday, but when LETA tried to contact him, his phone was switched off.

Pelss was the 181st selection by the Edmonton ''Oilers'' in the 2010 NHL Draft. He played for the team's American Hockey League (AHL) farm-club Oklahoma City ''Barons'' this past season.

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